Tue Feb 15th 2022

5 Rookies I Like More Than Other Analysts

The NFL season has come to an end, as have the fantasy playoff challenges I enter every year. That means it's time to focus my eyes on the upcoming rookie class. I always spend the weeks between the AFC and NFC championships and the Super Bowl working on my early rookie rankings. You can now see my early rookie rankings.

I make my rankings before looking at the rankings from any other website. Once my rankings are complete, I then look to other dynasty analysts' rankings to see what differences we have in our rankings. I like to compare my rankings with the professionals at Dynasty League Football (DLF) because they're some of the best in the business, and they have multiple analysts who contribute to their rookie rankings.

My rookie rankings will undoubtedly change over the next few months as I study the players more, hear more about player evaluations from NFL scouts, see their Combine results, and see player projections in informed NFL mock drafts. For now, after my first two weeks studying the 2022 rookie class, these are the players I have ranked higher than the pros at DLF.

David Bell

• Bell is my 3rd ranked rookie, while DFL pros have him ranked 9th. He's my 2nd ranked wide receiver and DLF's 6th ranked wide receiver.
• When he signed with Purdue, David Bell was a four-star recruit, the second-ranked wide receiver in Indiana. He had a breakout freshman season with more than a thousand yards receiving, and he's averaged more than 100 yards receiving per game in his three years at Purdue. His consistency and production are off the charts. His 6-2 205 pound frame makes him a versatile weapon and a fantastic NFL prospect. His highlight film shows him winning because of his route running and craftiness setting up defenders and finding open spots in zone coverages. He was used effectively on out routes, slants, crossing routes, screens, and caught plenty of deep balls. His versatility and consistent college production from day one on campus excite me the most about Bell. For now, I have him ranked above several other wide receivers in this class who, according to NFL mock drafts, are predicted to be drafted before Bell. As long as he's drafted in the first or second round, I don't imagine Bell falling at all in my rankings no matter which receivers in this class get selected ahead of him.

Jerome Ford

• Ford is my 5th ranked rookie, while DFL pros rank him 23rd. He's my 2nd ranked running back, and DLF's 7th ranked running back.
• I was shocked by the disparity in my rankings here. It's enough to make me want to go back and reconsider why I am so high on Ford compared to the other backs in this class. When I saw his highlight film, I was blown away. I just went back to watch more of it and was blown away again. He has tremendous vision and can find holes and make cuts to free himself for big gains. He's averaged more than 6 yards per carry the last two seasons. He has a nose for the end zone too. Last season he had 20 touchdowns. His break-away speed is also impressive. Last season, he had 43, 50, 75, and two 79 yard runs. Ford was a four-star recruit that signed with Alabama before transferring to Cincinnati. Given the players they recruit, it's tough to win a starting role as a running back in Alabama, which explains why he transferred and did not have a breakout season until his senior year, but that final year was outstanding. He had 215 carries for 1319 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground, in addition to 21 receptions for 220 yards and one touchdown. In this rookie class, many running backs only had one highly productive season. I like Ford and his one great season on film more than the other one-year wonders in this class.

Jahan Dotson

• Dotson is my 6th ranked rookie, while the pros at DFL rank him 13th. He's my 4th ranked wide receiver, and DLF's 8th ranked wide receiver.
• Dotson was a four-star recruit that signed with Penn State and steadily saw his share of the offense increase every year. His total yards grew from 203 to 488 to 884 to 1200 in his final season. His receptions increased from 13 to 27 to 52 to 91 last season. His touchdowns steadily increased too, from 0 to 5, to 8, to 12 in his final season. While I prefer to see breakout seasons as first- or second-year student-athletes like David Bell, I also value players who steadily increase their production. I usually rank players in that category higher than those who only breakout in their final year. Dotson isn't a big-play threat, but he's a very reliable possession receiver. He's smaller than many receivers in this class at 5-11 and 182 pounds, but his excellent route running gets him open on out routes. He's best at making plays on slants, crossers, and in the seam. He finds holes in the defenses, catches passes with his hands, and isn't afraid to take a hit. It takes different types of receivers to win in the NFL, and the team that needs a small but sure-handed possession receiver will be excited to draft Dotson. Last season, I was higher on Amon-Ra St. Brown than most dynasty analysts, and he did just what I thought he could do in Detroit. I see Dotson as the same type of player as Brown last year.

Christian Watson

• Watson is my 20th ranked rookie, while the DFL pros rank him 33rd. He's my 11th ranked wide receiver and DLF's 15th ranked wide receiver.
• Over the last two weeks, Watson came to my attention when the scouts could not stop talking about him during Senior Bowl practices. Though he played at a small school, North Dakota State, he dominated defensive backs from the more prominent schools during Senior Bowl practices. He only had one catch in the Senior Bowl game, but it went for 38 yards. He's a big-play threat, averaging 18.6 yards per catch during his four-year career. He had catches of 40, 45, 65, 67, 71, and 85 yards in his senior year. It's a very lofty comparison, but at 6-5 and 208 pounds, he reminds me a lot of a slightly thinner version of Mike Evans. He's not going to get picked in the first round like Evans was, but I believe a team will draft him on day two of the draft, and he will get an opportunity to play in his rookie season. It's a small thing, but I also add some weight to prospects with proven character. He was raised in a family of athletes, with a dad who played in the NFL. He was an honor roll student in high school and has already received his college degree. It's a small factor to consider, but I like guys with that kind of character. His upside makes me rank him higher than the folks at DLF.  

Romeo Doubs

• Doubs is my 23rd ranked rookie, while the DFL pros rank him 31st. He's my 14th ranked wide receiver and DLF's 14th ranked wide receiver, but I have him ranked eight spots higher than them in my overall rankings.
• Doubs was only a three-star recruit from Los Angeles, so he signed with a smaller school, Nevada. He had a considerable share of the offense his first two seasons, with 43 receptions his freshman year and 44 his sophomore year for 1211 total yards. In his junior and senior years, he nearly doubled the production of his first two seasons. He had 1002 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior and 1109 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. All of that to say, like Jahan Dotson, he improved from year to year. Like Christian Watson, he capitalized on his Senior Bowl invitation. Scouts also reported that he fared well against more highly-rated defensive backs and caught two passes in the Senior Bowl game. I don't think he has the same upside as Christian Watson, but I believe he can become a starter in the NFL in the right circumstances. If an NFL team thinks so too and drafts Doubs on day two of the draft, I imagine he'll stay right about here in my rankings as a late second or early third-round draft pick in rookie drafts. If NFL teams don't draft him on day two, he'll likely fall quite a bit in my rankings.

Leave your comment using the form below

Name
Comment
Enter the code